diamond hearts
by no-dreams-tonight
Summary: Diamonds were the strongest stones in the world and they could break anything else. Diamonds could also crack each other. Percy and Audrey had hearts of diamonds, and one day in a coffee shop, they cracked each other. :: Percy/Audrey ; Washington, D.C.


**disclaimer**: I do not own anything you recognize.

* * *

**diamond hearts**

_Spinning like a girl in a brand new dress,_  
_We had this big wide city all to ourselves._  
_We blocked the noise with the sound of "I need you",_  
_And for the first time I had something to lose_

- Taylor Swift, "_Holy Ground_"

* * *

Washington, D.C. was many things. It was the capital of the United States of America. It was the residence of the Muggle President and the place from where the country was run. It was the residence of the American Minister for Magic and from there, she looked over the entire continent. Washington, D.C. was the global headquarters of the Evening Prophet and also the place Audrey Ellington first met Percy Weasley.

/

She had been named after her aunt, a fragile lady who had been taken advantage of too many times. Audrey Baker was bruised; she had been beaten and raped, conned and manipulated. Her niece had promised herself that nothing of the sort would ever happen to herself. She would _never_ let it happen. Aunt Audrey's dignity had been taken away from her but her own would never leave.

So she built herself up in such a way that no one would ever be able to bring her down. She made herself so impenetrable that even Gringotts would be astounded at the amount of security.

/

Audrey Ellington's heart was made of diamond: it was the strongest stone in the world and it could break anything else.

"Are you busy tonight?"

It was the midget from _Transfiguration Today_. Again.

"Yeah," Audrey replied. "Busy getting away from you."

The short photographer who had wanted to ask her out flushed, embarrassed, and walked away as fast as he could. Audrey rolled her eyes. Couldn't these Americans get a clue? She had rejected every single invitation for the past three years. _Jeez_.

/

She got to the Evening Prophet offices a minute earlier than reporting. The receptionist, Riley - or was it Rory? - greeted her as she signed the attendance log.

"Good morning, Audrey! Mr. Wells has requested an appointment with you. He's free now, would you just pay him a visit?"

Audrey nodded, and instead of walking towards her own desk, she went the other way toward the office of the Current Affairs Editor.

A knock later, Graham Wells invited her in. He was a balding man awaiting promotion to the post of Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Evening Prophet. He and his wife were like the parents Audrey had never had. Mr. Wells was responsible for her high position at the Prophet and without Mrs. Wells, she would never have had a place to stay.

"How are you, Audrey?" Mr. Wells asked after gesturing for her to sit opposite him. Asking about the other person's well-being was Mr. Wells' standard greeting. At first, Audrey had scoffed at it, but then stopped when she had realized that he really did care.

"Never been better," she said. "How about you? How's Mrs. Wells?"

"Both of us are doing great. Georgia loved that recipe you gave her, by the way. She's going to use it when we next have a formal dinner at home," Mr. Wells laughed. Audrey knew that he found his wife's kitchen addiction humorous.

Then the fatherly demeanor faded, and Audrey saw the boss in Mr. Wells take over.

"I have an assignment for you, Audrey," he said. "I know you haven't been on anything long-term for a large amount of time, but I think this could be your big break. Assuming that Chief retires at the end of the month - which seems more or less final - I'll be moved up, and Jessica will be taking over this cabin. This assignment, I believe, is a chance for you to take her job."

Audrey raised her eyebrow. "Um, no offense, Mr. Wells, but do you really think I have a chance at promotion? I'm sure there are more experienced journalists in line. Even Alicia has been at the Prophet for a year longer than I have."

"You underestimate yourself, Audrey. You know as well as I do that your articles are much better rated than most of the others'."

She knew she couldn't counter that statement: her writing _was_ better than most.

"This is going to be your big break - just trust me, Audrey," Mr. Wells said.

Audrey exhaled. "So what is this assignment, Mr. Wells?"

"There have been, as you must be aware, certain turbulences in the Ministry. The previous Minister had caused various disagreements between the American and British Departments which had led to a tense situation.

"The new Minister has taken it upon herself to sort out the differences. Britain's Head of International Magical Cooperation is arriving in D.C. tomorrow, and they are going to work out a peace treaty. Audrey, I want you to cover this."

Mr. Wells had been right - this assignment was _big_.

"I'm honored you chose me for this, Mr. Wells," she found herself saying. In that moment, she felt proud that she had landed an assignment as important as this. The biggest event Audrey had covered up until this was an analysis of the home life of Roger Dresden, the previous Minister for Magic.

The other journalists with the same rank as hers had gotten to cover topics such the political angle to the Quidditch World Cup and the reinstatement of the Principal of Salem Institute - far more interesting topics than a Minister's _family_.

To their defense, she was the newest Junior Correspondent to the Evening Prophet, so it was a bit unlikely for her to get big stories. At least, that's what Audrey's co-worker and friend had said.

"Trust me, Aud, you're not gonna be writing articles longer than a quarter page till you're two years into the position. That's just the way it works," Alicia had stated after Audrey had been promoted. All the other colleagues had agreed.

Audrey smirked as she realized that she had proved all of them wrong.

/

After lunch, Audrey decided to pay a visit to the Prophet archives in order to gain some background information in the topic at hand.

Along with files on Roger Dresden's maladministration, the British Ministry and their relations with America, she also took out one on Britain's Department of International Magical Cooperation (IMC).  
Later, at her desk, she read about Percival Ignatius Weasley.

He was the Head of IMC and had been so since the end of the Second Wizarding War. Prior to that, he had been Junior Assistant to the British Minister himself and before that, he had started at the IMC on receiving 10 N.E.W.T.s in all.

Audrey had to use all the fingers of her hand to count the number of N.E.W.T.s he had received more than her, and she couldn't miss the 'Weasley' at the end of his name.

It seemed that Percy Weasley had got everything he had ever asked for. The best N.E.W.T. results one could possibly get, a high-flying career right from the very start and a very close-knit family.

That was so much more than what could be said for her.

* * *

"It's easy for you, Percy! You've got everything!"

Penelope's words would ring through his brain very often. He would hear himself calming her down and telling her that deaths always happened in a war. Then he would remember her shrugging him off, getting up and yelling. He would hear her telling him that he had everything and then he would see her slamming the door.

Sure, there was some truth to her words. She had said that he had made work his life, and he had. She had said that he was selfish, and he was.

But all of it wasn't true - he didn't have _everything_.

(He didn't have a soul mate. He didn't have a family. He didn't have a _home_.)

/

Percy had once heard someone saying that one would never know what he had until it was gone. He had heard that and instantly agreed; because that had once happened to him. He had loved his family (he still did), but that didn't mean he necessarily _liked_ them. His mother fussed too much, his father had little to no focus on work, Bill was too perfect for his own good. Charlie played with fire, Fred and George never did anything productive. Ron was okay, he supposed, but he was too much of a follower for Percy's liking. Ginny...well, he hadn't really understood her all that well.

He had had his differences with them, but that had been no excuse for taking them for granted. He had, and that had led him down. He had not known the meaning of family until he no longer had one.

Of course, after the battle, he'd been taken in again, but it just hadn't been the same. He still had a hard time believing that any of them had completely forgiven him for his actions. Nevertheless, he was there at their side _always_. And he felt the same about Harry Potter.

So when the Roger Dresden had laughed at the Harry, Percy been the first to stand up against it.

It wasn't very well-known why exactly the British and American Ministries had had disagreements, but the general public did know that it was related to the British Wizarding Wars. With the best interest of the wizarding world at heart, the reasons had been kept confidential.

Since Percy's blow-up at the Minister Shacklebolt's office, many things had changed. Roger Dresden was no longer the American Minister and most of his minions were no longer in office. They had a new Minister, and new Head of Foreign Magical Affairs…but that didn't mean that he wasn't feeling uncomfortable while being asked to go to the States for a fortnight to work out the issues.

Percy wasn't the most loyal of persons, but when it came to his family, he would do anything for them. Especially now.

Last time he had defended them, and he wasn't going to take back his actions anytime soon.

Maybe Georgina Farlan would turn out to be a great administrator and a non-hater of Britain. Maybe she would be a genuine person, diplomatic even. Maybe the topic of Voldemort would never come up.

Or maybe it would, and Georgina Farlan would be a right bitch and detest England.

Honestly, Percy had no clue. Only time would tell.

/

"Yes, but that didn't mean that Dresden had any right to ridicule our world's survivor!"

Percy's voice echoed through the dungeons. They had this cold vibe about them, Percy thought - worse than Professor Snape's dungeons, if that was possible. Maybe it was just him though. Maybe he wanted to feel that way.

"Mr. Weasley, please start thinking rationally! It wasn't all Mr. Dresden's fault, and you know that," the man sitting in front of him said. It was Silvers, the idiot from the American Department of Foreign Magical Affairs.

"Hell if I do," Percy glared at Silvers.

This whole sorting-it-out thing was getting on his nerves.

The agenda was not only working towards mutual agreement between the Ministries, but also organising programmes for international bonding. Percy failed to believe that either would actually happen.

He stood up.

"I'm going to take a break. I don't have enough energy left in me for another session of back-and-forth accusations," he spat. With that, he left the dungeons and took the elevator up to the main level.

Even there, he was met with many reporters who wanted to interview him about the recent developments. This whole America-versus-Britain issue had gone pretty much out of hand and now the journalists watched his every step, accusing him of causing it. Percy just put on his hard face when anyone did that.

The main level had another set of reporters that he brushed past, heading for the entrance. It was a gateway into the Muggle world through an out-of-order stall in a public toilet. So heading up meant that he had to poke his wand through a hole and then he would turn up in the stall through the pipe, completely drenched in sewer water. It was dirty and just plain disgusting.

On coming out of the pipe, Percy cast a dry charm on himself and then a vanishing charm on all the muck he had on him. Once he was sure he had cleaned himself up, Percy stepped out of the stall and headed out towards Muggle D.C. streets.

/

Audrey's eyes followed Percy Weasley's swift feet to the entrance of the Ministry. It was her first day on the assignment, and Weasley hadn't let any of the journalists get anywhere near him. Even if anyone did get near, he ignored them. The representatives were getting restless.

She didn't know what she was going to do if she didn't manage to get a piece in for the evening's issue of the Prophet. Mr. Wells, not to mention the other officials, were depending on her for a front page article they had reserved space for. There was a backup, of course, but nothing very good.

If Percy Weasley kept up the facade, Audrey feared that she wouldn't be able to write anything at all.

She had to think rationally. Audrey understood that Weasley treasured his privacy and that he wanted to protect his dignity. So it was no doubt, seeing his current behavior, that he would ever open up to a reporter like her.

Then the idea struck her like lightning.

She took the Evening Prophet identification card off her neck, and removed her hair from the bun she'd tied it in. Her brown hair hit her back and she brushed her hands through them. The receptionist from the Prophet, who'd come along as a photographer, raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to say something but Audrey silenced her with a glare.

"Trust me, Rory, I know what I'm doing," she said. The girl glared back at her.

"It's _Rhonda_," she said. Audrey rolled her eyes. How she hated blondes!

"Not much of a difference," Audrey snapped. Giving Rhonda a last vicious look, she strode to the main entrance and into the witch section. With a prodding of her wand on the hole, Audrey was on D.C.'s Muggle roads.

After a quick glance at the mirror, she rushed out of the door and onto the street. She looked around and after little searching, found a redheaded man in a suit walking into a coffee shop. It was a favorite hangout of the younger Ministry employees and had been in the Food & Dining section of the Prophet more times than one could count on a hand.

Audrey walked to _Leaves and Beans_ as fast as she could, but ensured that she wouldn't look disheveled on entering the shop. She saw that Percy Weasley was sitting on one of the bar stools - that was perfect! Her feet took her to where he was sitting, and she sat down on the stool next to his.

"Good afternoon and welcome to _Leaves and Beans_. What would you like to have?" the waitress asked in a bored voice.

"Cappuccino will do, thanks," Audrey replied. Meanwhile, another waitress had come from the kitchen door and was standing in front of Weasley.

"We don't serve the tea you asked for, Sir," she said, while batting her eyelashes at him. "Would you maybe like something else? I have my favourites, Sir, I'm sure you'll love those, or-"

To Audrey's pleasure, the dumb blonde waitress was cut off by Weasley's uncomfortable gaze. "I'll have cappuccino then," he told her.

"Don't worry, it's pretty regular for waitresses to flirt with customers for tips," Audrey laughed. Weasley turned to her. "You new in town?" she asked.

Weasley nodded. "I'm sure I'll get used to it. Yes, on a business trip. Not for long, just a couple days," he replied.

Audrey watched as he looked around the coffee shop, examining the beautifully done walls. She supposed by the finality in his tone that he didn't want to chat, but she needed the information.

"How's it going then?" she asked, making Weasley look at her like he hadn't expected another question.

"Okay, I suppose. Nothing great. My American counterparts aren't very lovely, to say the least," he shrugged.

More finality.

_Come on, Audrey!_ she told herself. _You've got to do better than this. You're a great interviewer, aren't you?_

Their coffees had arrived and were nearly down their systems by the time Audrey spoke again.

"Will I be seeing you tomorrow, then? _Leaves and Beans_ have the best Tuesday specials, you know," she stated.

She could see Percy Weasley almost smiling. "We'll have to wait and see, won't we?" he said.

With that, he walked out of the shop, leaving Audrey with the knowledge that she was going to have a successful assignment after all.

/

Percy admitted to himself the next day that he was quite looking forward to going to the coffee shop. It was a strange feeling for him - he always put work before women, but for the first time it was the other way round.

Of course, it could be because he found conversing with Silvers and Farlan very draining. It could be because the American Ministry did not interest him.

It could also be because of the fact that the woman from the coffee shop had drawn him in. Percy decided that he liked it when someone didn't know anything about him. When they didn't know his background, he decided it was a better conversation that took place.

He was well-known over Britain as the one person who had broken off allegiance with the Order of the Phoenix. No one had initially known about it, but then there had been that fateful Witch Weekly issue.

_We saw the Order sweeping in and rescuing those who needed it. We saw the Weasleys, now voted the most popular British Wizarding family, ready to sacrifice everything they had in order to get half-bloods and Muggle-borns alike to safety. The question that arises when one remembers the days of the War is but obvious: where was Percy Weasley? The Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic had been missing from the Weasleys during the dark days, reports Rita Skeeter._

_"Percy had been at odds with his family during the War," revealed a source close to the Weasleys. "He had been tampering with the Dark Arts ever since he first began at Hogwarts. Molly and Arthur Weasley never approved of him."_

_Another source tell us exclusively that Percy Weasley had indeed been a part of You-Know-Who's inner circle._

The article had gone on and on, and with her subtle words and harsh accusations, Rita Skeeter had hypnotised majority of Britain's magical population into believing that he, Percy Weasley, was a dark wizard.

When anyone identified him on the streets of Diagon Alley, the immediate reaction was the widening of eyes. A flicker of recognition in his case was, more often than not, followed by worry in the eyes.

It was tiring, really.

Percy supposed that it was the reason the American Ministry was being so difficult. On the second day of negotiations, as well, nothing fruitful happened. Silvers yelling at the top of voice and Percy retaliating; Farlan trying to calm them down.

Silvers didn't fail to make strong comments about Percy, and that angered him even more. He just didn't understand why they were making things so difficult.

That day, he left the dungeons in a similar manner to that of the previous day. Avoiding the reporters once again, he took the pipe to Muggle D.C. and walked into _Leaves and Beans_.

The woman from the previous day was sitting at the same place she had the previous day, and he walked there and sat where he had sat, too. She turned sideways to look at him.

"I knew you'd come," she said Percy rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"You couldn't have known for sure," he replied. "I almost didn't come, you know."

She smirked. "You and I both know that it isn't true."

"What did you say your name was, anyway?" he asked. He didn't remember her telling him.

Percy saw her hesitate, and then put on a smirk. "I didn't," she said. Figured. "It's Ray, though."

Ray. It was a nice name, he supposed. It just didn't suit her. "I'm Percy," he introduced himself formally, being careful not to utter his last name as well. Not that it would have made much of a difference.

Ray nodded. "So, how was work?" she asked.

The conversation flowed from there. He told her he was a marketing incharge at a large London Muggle computing firm. She told him she was a writer. He told her how much he hated his colleagues. She told him how much she hated hers. Percy felt like he'd known Ray for ages, it was with that much ease that they communicated.

The topic soon diverted to families. He felt her getting uncomfortable, but then he wasn't very comfortable either. It was okay. She told him how her uncle had pulled pranks on her mother. He told her about Fred and George.

"And then, just boom! Everything explodes right before our eyes! It's a wonder, really," he said, as she laughed. "They were great pranksters, Fred and George. All of us miss their pranks."

He frowned then, realising that he'd slipped up. He shouldn't have used past tense!

"Did they stop, then?" Ray asked. It was an obvious question after the idiocy he had done. "Did they stop pranking?"

"George stopped," Percy confirmed slowly. He hesitated, then continued.

"Fred passed away two years ago," he said. "I could have saved him, Ray. A - A car hit him and I was there besides him. I could have pulled him back."

Percy put the remorse in his words. Then, what Ray said shocked him more than the fact that he slipped up in front of a Muggle.

"Maybe you could have, Percy, but what happened happened, right? It's not like you can relive that moment," Ray told him. It was a blunt consolation. True in every sense, but not the kind of condolences one would expect.

"I'm sorry, Percy," Ray said, when he didn't reply. He looked up from his feet and rubbed his face with his hands.

"It's fine. I've learnt to live with it," Percy exhaled. "So, what do you say about exploring the city sometime? I mean, I really need to go now - Silvers will be waiting for me. But maybe one day you can show me around D.C.?"

It had taken a lot of his courage, but once he'd said the words, he'd felt good.

"Sure. How about Friday evening?" Ray asked brightly.

A few minutes later, Percy Weasley left the coffee shop more contented than usual.

/

As the days passed, Audrey's popularity among the officials at the Prophet grew. Everyone was in awe of how she had managed to extract information about something so hush-hush. Of course, she had had to translate Percy's Muggle computing woes to magical mishandlings, but it had been worth it. Audrey Ellington was the new 'it' reporter of the Evening Prophet.

She visited _Leaves and Beans_ everyday without fail, and once Percy told her about a lady called Audrey who had been passing comments about him at work. He wondered how she had obtained all the information about the deal, and he told Audrey how much he hated her.

Audrey loved it.

That came as a surprise at first, but Audrey soon embraced the fact that she loved how she meant something to someone. It meant that she had been successful. She loved how she had become a part of someone's life.

That was the true success of a reporter, she felt - when people who you would never know knew you, you could say that you were successful.

But Audrey hated it, too.

She genuinely liked Percy. He was a great friend. They listened to each other; they shared their fears, their mistakes, their hopes, their dreams. It didn't matter that they had secrets - Percy was the best friend Audrey had never had before.

It was the first time she had let someone so deep inside her heart. She had tried convincing herself that it was for the sake of work, but that wasn't true and Audrey knew it.

She had run away before the fall of the Scrimgeour Ministry. Taken the first available international portkey and come to the first available destination.

It had been worth it - Audrey had hated home, with her wasted father and useless brother. Sure, she loved them, but that didn't mean she liked them. She was past the mourning stage and she didn't even visit her mother's grave anymore.

(The last time she'd gone to the cemetery, she'd seen her father passed out on the grass next to her mother's headstone.)

She often read about her brother, the first Hufflepuff Arrows player in ages. He was one of the most controversial players in the league - constantly caught sleeping around, once caught punching a reporter, the works. Other than tabloids, though, Audrey had no contact with him, and she was happy that way.

After the way her family had turned out, Audrey had made herself a heart of diamond so it couldn't ever be hurt; and then Percy Weasley had come along, and soon she had revealed to him that even diamonds could be broken.

/

Friday finally arrived, and after finishing a round of healthy debates with Farlan (he had requested to have Silvers removed from the meeting), Percy waited at _Leaves and Beans_ for nearly half an hour before begrudgingly accepting that Ray wasn't going to turn up.

He was sitting at his regular place, and the place besides him was empty. He was surprised: Ray _never_ missed a date. He paid at the counter and then walked out of the door, absentmindedly crashing into a dark-skinned woman.

"Oh, I'm so sor- wait, are you Percy?" the woman asked. Percy nodded, confused as to how she would know him. He prayed internally that she wasn't a journalist, and his prayer was not answered - this was Alicia, Ray's friend, who was one.

"Ray wanted me to tell you that she can't make it today. Her editor wanted to meet her and the meeting is getting over anytime soon. Sorry," she said after introducing herself.

"Oh," Percy replied. "Never mind. Thanks for letting me know."

Alicia murmured something and began to walk away, only to be stopped by Percy.

"HEY!" he yelled, motioning for her to wait. "Alicia, can you tell me where Ray lives?"

Percy saw Alicia hesitating, biting her lips. "I'm not sure if Ray..." she trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"Come on, I know Ray won't mind. I'm not a rapist or a burglar, am I?" Percy said, trying to convince Alicia. "Besides, you'll be doing Ray a favour and saving her a lot of trips here. Please, Allie?"

The nickname and the begging seemed to work.

"Okay," Alicia sighed. "Only on one condition, though. You won't tell her that I told you."

/

Audrey got home three hours before midnight, and completely regretted missing her date with Percy. The meeting with Mr. Wells had been important, sure, but Audrey surely could've had it the next day morning.

She was tired and just annoyed when the doorbell rang. She didn't even bother to look through the spyglass; she assumed it was someone from the Girl Scouts selling cookies.

"Listen girlie, I've already told you that this is no place you ought to knock. One more time you do and I swear-" Audrey stopped on looking up and seeing that it wasn't, in fact, Girl Scouts.

The man outside the door had red hair and freckled. He wore horn-rimmed glasses that made him look dorky and well, cute. He had the serious look about him, but Audrey knew he wasn't what he looked.

Outside the door stood Percy Weasley.

"Percy? But- how-?" she could barely get words out of her. How the hell had he found her?

"I have my sources," Percy replied. Audrey raised an eyebrow.

"Alicia? Man, I'm going to kill her," she said, while opening the door for Percy.

"It wasn't Alicia," Percy said. "I used the phone book, actually. I remembered you telling me about your landlady."

Nice save.

It was a good thing Audrey liked living the Muggle way, or Percy would have grown suspicious.

There were bits of parchment lying around, of course, and floo powder. That could be lied about.

She invited him in, and was feeling thankful to the fact that she hadn't changed into nightclothes. Merlin knew what she would have done had Percy turned up when she had been in her gown.

They ended up ordering pizza that night. By the time Percy decided it was time to go home, it was well past midnight.

"Stay, Percy. I'm serious, I don't mind," she told him. He seemed to have his doubts. Audrey knew him to be quite stuck-up and awkward at times. She accepted him for who he was; that was the best thing about the two of them.

"I don't know, Ray…" Percy bit his lip.

"I _want_ you to to stay, Percy," Audrey said, moving closer to him. "Please?"

He still looked unsure. "Ray, I would love to stay her, believe me. Just...don't you think we're moving too fast? We met each other, what, _four_ days ago? Don't you think it's a bit too soon? I don't want to get too attached to you, Ray, no offence - in a few days' time, I don't want to be home and missing you. This is getting-"

She cut him off. "Percy, I _need_ you. I don't know why the hell we didn't meet before Monday, but it's okay because I feel like I've known you for ages. Stay, Percy. I want to make up for all the time we lost. I want to feel whole, with you."

Neither of them knew who moved first, but after moment that felt like infinity, they closed the distance between them. Their lips crashed together; their souls united. It was as if the moon had met its match. On their own, they were negative, but the two of them became affirmative. Today's midnight met tomorrow's. Audrey and Percy were, in those minutes, _one_. Together, it was as though they blocked the noise from the city outside. It was as though nothing could break them apart.

Audrey was selfish, and manipulative, and a bitch. She was the love-em-and-leave-em type - no, she actually just picked them up and left them. Audrey Ellington had a heart made of diamond - it was the strongest stone in the world.

Percy was selfish, and stuck-up, and cruel as well. He never loved, he never even fell for anyone. Percy Weasley had a heart made of diamond - it could break anything else.

And diamonds were the most beautiful stones in the world too - unique, intriguing, magnificent. There were so many things one could do with them. Diamonds were the strongest stones in the world and they could break anything else, and only a diamond could crack a diamond.

Percy and Audrey both had hearts of diamond, and soon, word by word and kiss by kiss, they cracked each other.

* * *

The days after their first kiss were a blur. They met only briefly on Saturday as he had to be at the Ministry throughout. To make up for it, they spent the entire day together on Sunday. Monday and Tuesday they met at the coffee shop. It was bliss.

For Percy, things were going well with Farlan as well. They had come to a compromise and signed a treaty that would benefit both nations. Silvers was back in their meetings; but this time Percy just plain ignored him. It was easier that he'd thought it would be. Along with various other departments, they were planning international bonding programmes such as Quidditch friendlies and overseas internships. Percy came up with a student exchange programme between the two United States schools, one Canadian school and Hogwarts. He felt proud of himself for it, as well as for how he was signing everything on behalf of Kingsley.

All was well.

Percy had finished touring Muggle D.C. with Ray on Sunday - they had seen museums and libraries and cemeteries and whatnot. Percy had even had the pleasure of meeting senators, which pretty much his equivalent in the Muggle world. The city was huge and captivating with so much history that it gave London a run for its money. He got inspired by Abraham Lincoln and was drawn into the paintings of Monet. Percy was captured by the brilliance of the city.

The boundlessness he had felt there was indeed indescribable; it had been as if the whole city had just been his and Ray's, like it had just been _theirs_.

He had slipped up a few times, but thankfully covered so as to not make Ray suspicious. Percy was smart; he _knew _he wouldn't break the Statute of Secrecy. He didn't tell his mother that he'd met someone; Ray was his and only his. It didn't matter, even now, that she was a Muggle and completely unaware of his secret.

On Wednesday, he had wanted to tour the D.C. magical district, but Percy gave up that desire when Ray boldly invited him over for the night.

He had a portkey down to Texas that day, to visit the all-boys Wizarding school. He finished all the work there and after freshening up, arrived at Ray's doorstep at nine. It was fifteen minutes later than she had told him to come, making Percy feel guilty. He conjured some flowers out of thin air - roses, Ray's favourite - and rang the doorbell.

It wasn't answered at the first ring, so Percy rang it another time and then another. After five rings, he decided to go in.

"Alohomora," he whispered, fearing the worst. The mahogany door creaked open and Percy pushed it in, slowly entering the flat. It was dark; Ray hadn't been there since morning. He supposed that she'd been held back at her editor's; it was a pretty normal occurrence.

Percy switched on the lights and looked around the living room. He hadn't examined Ray's house properly. He'd been too wrapped up in her.

His eyes fell on the fridge which had various papers stuck on it. Percy went closer to see what they were, and he saw blankverse poems which had obviously been written by Ray. They had a raw emotion in them that he found stunning. He read each poem one by one, and he found himself in awe of Ray's writing.

By the time he was down to the penultimate verse of the last poem, the unthinkable happened.

Percy heard a tap on the window, and looked up to see a tawny owl. He assumed that maybe the owl had a write-up from one of the American Department Heads. He assumed that maybe it had a letter from either of the Ministers or a letter from home. He assumed that the owl had found him there.

Percy Weasley, in that moment, assumed many things, but all of them were proved wrong.

He opened the window to let the owl in, and untied the letter tied to it. There was nothing on the envelope other than a return address to The Daily Prophet, London. Percy grew even more curious of the contents of the letter, but they were nothing like those he had expected.

It was a parchment the length of an average Hogwarts letter. It had the Prophet's crest at the top, and it was addressed to _Audrey Ellington_, of all people.

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to the position of Junior Correspondent of Current Affairs at the London branch of the Morning Prophet. Your progress and quick rise through the ranks at the Headquarters branch of the Evening Prophet was well-appreciated by us. You proved through your well-written and thorough articles that you are, indeed, Prophet material._

_We will be welcoming you in office on the 1st of January, 2001. In order to draw in interest in your forthcoming column, your first assignment will be published before you officially join us. We were drawn in by your realistic and honest articles about our politician, Percy Weasley and the candid approach you took to write them. It would be fantastic if you wrote something about him with a similar premise._

_We at the Daily Prophet are looking forward to a response from you and it would be a pleasure to have you in office._

_Sincerely,_  
_Andrew Oliver_  
_The Daily Prophet's Head of Recruitments_

The mist dissolved, and suddenly everything clicked into place.

Ray had never told him her last name, neither had she mentioned her full name. Ray couldn't be her real name, could it? Audrey Ellington could easily be shortened to Ray.

That was how all that information about the treaty had reached the public, he realized. He had been confiding in Ray - Audrey, whoever the hell she was - only to have her writing columns about him the Prophet.

This was why he put work before women - work could never lie to him, betray him. Ray had shown that even the woman you were most compatible with was capable of being a traitor.

Percy felt many things; he felt anger, and hurt, and disappointment. He left the letter there, he let the owl stay perched on the window sill. Without another look, he strode out of the flat and he didn't stop until he had reached the hotel he was staying in.

He wrote to Farlan and told her that he had an issue at home that he needed to tend to. He was very vague in letter and mentioned at the very end that he would be sending a replacement.

He couldn't stay in this city for longer; it only had memories of Ray.

The cut was deep - he'd been _used_, and he hadn't even realized. For the first time in so many years he had had something to lose, and he had lost it.

(Diamonds _always_ cut the deepest.)

* * *

A few months later, Ginny apparated to his apartment with a copy of the Prophet in her hand.

"Did you read it?" she asked him. He frowned, unable to understand her.

"I stopped reading that rubbish ages ago, Ginny, you know that," he stated matter-of-factly.

Ginny smirked in response. "I wonder why," she said, thrusting the paper in his hands. "Read."

And he read.

**Alchemy**  
by _Audrey 'Ray' Ellington_

_Once, I ran into a man in a coffee shop. He was an English redhead, which translated to Weasley. He was the handsome twenty-something Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation in Britain. He was probably the smartest man I've known all my life. He was also the subject of my latest assignment._

_Are you listening, Percy Weasley?_

_I want you to._

_Once, I ran into a man in a coffee shop and fell in love. He was the most interesting man I'd met in my life, and he was the most trustworthy as well. We weren't the most conventional of pairs or the most unconventional either; we were just _there_, and that was all that mattered._

_Once, I ran into a man in a coffee shop and I made the biggest mistake of my life. I underestimated what getting off the rails could do to a person. I had been married to my work, then the coffee shop happened. I had read so many stories about what falling for a colleague could do, but I had disregarded the warnings and fallen anyway._

_And it had been worth it. Every moment. That city, and us. One and a half week was enough for me to fall in love, because I had met my prince. I had met the man of my dreams; the Antony to my Cleopatra and the Romeo to my Juliet. I had met Percy Weasley, and he was perfect._

_But as they say, every plot has a twist. And me writing this is ours. Percy eventually saw through the mask of my lies and left. I do not blame him; I should have been honest. It was my mistake. I am not the damsel in distress and he is not my knight in shining armour; but if I am the protagonist in the tale, then I see him as the one I'll remember in the epilogue._

_Everyone makes mistakes. I want all of you to keep this in mind in all the time. I have made mistakes, Percy has made mistakes. Harry Potter has made mistakes and so has Kingsley Shacklebolt. There is no one on earth without regrets. In the same way, everybody on earth in one way or the other yearns for love. I was once in love with Percy Weasley, and it wasn't the most conventional of romances but it was beautiful._

_I kissed him and it felt as though the sun was meeting its match. I felt him with my fingertips and I suddenly knew forever. I heard him speak and knew the voice of heaven; I looked into his eyes and saw the world. And just like that, when I touched him, I understood the alchemy of love - we stood there together and became gold ourselves._

* * *

**a/n:** this Percy/Audrey is written for _maybewesortoosoon_'s_The Jetsetter Competition _where I got the location Washington, DC. After I thought of the pairing this fic pretty much wrote itself and yeah... It is the first time I played with an open ending, so please let me know if it works or not!

This is also my first oneshot longer than 5K and my first HP longer than 2K. Happy is me :) Percy/Audrey is my new OTP, and for some reason I never grasped the concept of her being a Muggle. I need critique regarding Percy's characterisation and flow of the story. Please do review, it makes my day :)


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